Chapter 14: The Savior General Uncovers the Truth, Dai the Chief Physician Confesses

According to An Daoquan, those poisoned by the “Black Heart Red Pill” are unable to move or speak, showing no signs of life. However, they are actually conscious and sensitive to touch. They feel as if they are in hell, constantly suffering excruciating pain like maggots gnawing at their bones and skin being peeled off. They cannot live, they cannot die, and they endure this torment for forty-nine days. Their skin rots, their internal organs turn to blood, their bones and tendons are ground to dust, and finally, they die completely.

“Captain Wu, send Instructor Lin on his way.”

After hearing An Daoquan’s words, the last hope of the heroes was completely extinguished.

Wu Song raised his iron saber and swung it down, but Zhang Yue grabbed it with his bare hands. Blood splattered from Zhang Yue’s hand, and Wu Song quickly released the hilt.

“Divine Doctor An may have heard that if this poison is cured, the poisoned person will be reborn, as if they have been reborn. Their skin and flesh will be impervious to swords and spears, their bones will be as strong as steel, and their temperament will change drastically.” Zhang Yue handed the saber back to Wu Song, his eyes resolute.

An Daoquan quickly bowed deeply to Zhang Yue, saying as if he had found a treasure, “That’s right, my ancestor also said the same thing.”

An Daoquan couldn’t hide his excitement. He glanced at Lin Chong and continued, “Someone with Lin Chong’s skills, if he survives this ordeal, then the other four tigers combined, no, even with the eight Gallant Knights, would be no match for him!”

An Daoquan paused and then looked at Zhang Yue, asking with a hint of doubt, “But, who are you, brother? How do you know about this?”

An Daoquan was very happy to meet a fellow practitioner on Liangshan. He kept asking Zhang Yue questions. Zhang Yue didn’t want to lose face for the divine doctor, so he respectfully replied, “My name is Zhang Yue. I am known in the martial arts world as the God-Sent Savior. It was I who killed Gao Qiu at the foot of Liangshan the other day.”

An Daoquan’s eyes lit up. He couldn’t believe that such a man with incredible martial arts skills also possessed profound medical knowledge!

Zhang Yue continued, “Just now, when I heard Divine Doctor An’s words, I suddenly remembered that my master also told me about the ‘Black Heart Red Pill’!”

Zhang Yue slowly recounted the story, and the heroes listened intently.

It turned out that when Master Zhizhen was explaining the rare poisons of the world to Zhang Yue, he had mentioned this poison. At the time, Zhang Yue thought that palace poisons were difficult to find in the world, so he only listened vaguely.

But as he listened to An Daoquan’s detailed explanation, Zhang Yue found it increasingly familiar. Finally, he remembered that his master had told him about the “Black Heart Red Pill.”

Lu Zhishen, hearing this, quickly stepped forward and grabbed Zhang Yue, saying happily, “That’s great! Since your master told you about it, there must be a way to cure it. Quickly use your skills to save Instructor Lin!”

“Yes, yes, please, Brother Zhang Yue, use your miraculous skills to revive him!” the heroes pleaded, kneeling down.

Zhang Yue helped everyone up and agreed to cure Lin Chong. He explained that to cure this poison, he would have to wait until the forty-ninth day of poisoning before he could start treatment.

In the meantime, he would prepare for the detoxification process. If necessary, he would ask everyone for their help.

The most crucial thing was a medicinal guide, which could not be obtained by human effort. They could only wait for the right time.

After saying this, Zhang Yue asked everyone to move Lin Chong to a safe place and arrange for people to guard him day and night to prevent anyone from harming him again.

After everything was settled, Zhang Yue said to the heroes, “A rare palace poison has appeared on Liangshan. Instructor Lin’s life is uncertain, and his personal servant has died. This is a serious matter. The most urgent thing is to find out the truth and the culprit, to prevent the villain from harming anyone else.”

After Zhang Yue finished speaking, everyone agreed. Song Jiang, who had lost his prestige, wanted to save face and gave Zhang Yue a favor.

In front of everyone, he bowed deeply to Zhang Yue and announced, “Such a major incident has occurred on Liangshan. As the first leader, I am to blame. Fortunately, heaven has bestowed upon Liangshan Brother Zhang Yue. Until the truth is revealed…”

Song Jiang raised his voice and continued, “Everything is about finding out the truth. Please remember, Zhang Yue’s words are the words of the great leader of Liangshan!”

Everyone agreed in unison. Zhang Yue immediately ordered a lockdown of Liangshan, strictly forbidding the cavalry, infantry, navy, logistics, intelligence scouts, miscellaneous staff, and fire-workers from leaving the mountain.

He also ordered the leaders to count their troops and gather them in the courtyard. No one was allowed to act independently. Anyone who disobeyed would be treated as a criminal!

After everything was arranged, Zhang Yue went to Dong Li Ning’s residence alone. Dong Li Ning’s body had already been carried out.

Zhang Yue called for the coroner. The coroner mumbled for a long time, saying that he couldn’t determine the cause of death. He said that it was probably a natural death, his time had come.

Zhang Yue looked at Dong Li Ning, who was in his early thirties. Although he had a crooked face, like a misshapen gourd, a closer look at his skin, hands, feet, and hair revealed no signs of premature aging.

Zhang Yue concluded that he must have died an unnatural death. He asked the coroner to open his chest and abdomen to check for damage to his internal organs.

He himself entered Dong Li Ning’s residence to look for clues. As Lin Chong’s servant, Dong Li Ning, the villain, also enjoyed a private room.

However, this room was converted from a storage room. There were no neighbors, so he couldn’t ask them. Zhang Yue could only examine the room thoroughly, inside and out.

The room was small, with only a bed, a table, a few stools, and a fire pit.

The bed was placed next to the window. The window of the storage room was very small. To make it easier to see outside, Dong Li Ning’s bed was placed next to the window.

Zhang Yue carefully examined the bed from the foot, but there was nothing unusual. The sheets were neatly arranged, with no signs of a struggle or fight.

According to the coroner, Dong Li Ning died in bed. Zhang Yue found it strange. Could he really have died in his sleep?

Just as Zhang Yue was about to give up and check other places, he suddenly noticed a hole in the window paper above the headboard.

He took a closer look. It was obvious that someone had poked a hole in it with a finger that had been moistened with saliva.

Those familiar with the underhanded tactics of the martial arts world knew that this was a mark left by a bamboo tube used to blow in a drug that induces unconsciousness.

At this time, the coroner excitedly ran to Zhang Yue, holding Dong Li Ning’s heart, and pointed at the black heart, saying excitedly, “I found it! I found it! I found the cause of death! It was this steel needle that killed him!”

Zhang Yue took a closer look and saw a shiny steel needlehead in the black heart.

He pulled it out and saw that it was five inches long, had no needle hole, and was as thick as a grain of rice. It was clearly not a normal needle. It seemed to have been specially made for murder.

Zhang Yue immediately took the coroner, who was holding the black heart, to the crowd who were waiting.

He called for Lu Zhishen, Wu Song, Cao Zheng, and others to look at the steel needle. He secretly ordered them to search everyone’s rooms for the needle.

After Lu Zhishen and the others left, Zhang Yue announced Dong Li Ning’s cause of death to everyone, “After examination, there is a hole in Dong Li Ning’s window paper, and a steel needle is stuck in his heart. It seems that someone used a bamboo tube to blow in a drug that induces unconsciousness, then secretly entered the room and inserted the steel needle into his heart, killing him!”

Everyone heard this and started talking among themselves. They couldn’t believe that someone would use such a cruel method to kill their own brother.

Zhang Yue continued, “I have already secretly ordered my brother and Captain Wu to search everyone’s rooms for the needle…”

Before Zhang Yue could finish speaking, a man stepped out from the crowd and said, “No need to search. I killed Dong Li Ning.”

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice. The speaker was none other than Dai Zong, the Great Supervisor of Liangshan’s intelligence gathering and the commander of the Secret Intelligence Camp, the Heavenly Speed Star, the “Divine Speed” Guardian!